Mediterranean Veggie Roast

I was invited to a birthday potluck this weekend and wasn't sure what to bring . . . but I had this beautiful eggplant, mushrooms, and saw some Mediterranean feta cheese at Trader Joe's (the birthday girl loves feta) so came up with this dish which we really liked. For a vegan version, use toasted pine nuts or dairy-free feta substitute.

Mediterranean Veggie Roast

1 onion, peeled and cut into wedges
8 ounce white mushrooms, halved (or quartered if very large)
2 red bell peppers, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch slices lengthwise
3 zucchini, sliced
1 large eggplant, quartered and sliced
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese or toasted pine nuts
salt and black pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a mixing bowl, toss onions and mushrooms with a splash of balsamic vinegar and enough olive oil to coat. Place on baking sheet and roast in oven (stirring occasionally) 15-20 minutes, or until slightly browned.

In mixing bowl, toss red bell peppers with just enough olive oil to coat them. Spread on baking sheet and cook about 20 minutes or until edges are browned, turning once or twice so they don’t char.

In a mixing bowl, toss zucchini with a splash of balsamic vinegar and enough olive oil to coat. Place on baking sheet and put in oven. Roast about 10 minutes on each side, or until golden brown.

In a mixing bowl, toss eggplant with a splash of balsamic vinegar and enough olive oil to coat. Place on baking sheet and put in oven. Roast about 10 - 15 minutes on each side, or until golden brown.

Place roasted vegetables in the mixing bowl, add the remaining ingredients. Serve warm, at room temperature, or cold.

Serves 8

Easy Greens

I found the cutest little baby bok choy at the Farmers' Market yesterday and rather than adding them to a soup or stir-fry like I normally would, I decided to let them shine all on their own. I had also been wanting to try my new bottle of Mango Balsamic Vinegar from my last trip to Global Gardens so . . . voila . . . . Mango Balsamic Braised Boy Choy!

Wash and coarsely chop the bok choy. Coat skillet with olive oil and heat over medium heat. Add the boy choy and stir a bit. Cover and cook about 5 minutes, or until crisp-tender. Drizzle boy choy with Mango Balsamic Vinegar and sprinkle on some sea salt. That's it! Easy and yummy.

Perfect French Toast

My family loves French Toast and make it a lot, but sometimes it would come out soggy and custardy, especially when using thick white bread and then nobody liked it. However, I found the secret to perfectly crisp French Toast . . . day (or two) old baguettes! While they are too tough to eat plain, they are absolutely great for making French Toast. So hit that day old rack at your bakery and cook up a batch.

As for topping our French Toast, we're not big on maple syrup . . . I find it too sweet first thing in the morning. We usually go for some homemade jam or applesauce . . . but this weekend as a special treat, we tried a thin layer of Trader Joe's Cocoa Almond Spread (an almond version of Nutella). Yummy . . . and along with a yogurt topped fruit salad, it was still a healthy but special breakfast treat.

So what do you like on your French Toast?

Destressing weekday meals

I love my routine of cooking on Sunday afternoon/evening to make the start of a busy week less hectic. This Sunday morning, I put some black beans to soak as soon as I got up. Then before I went out in the afternoon, I put them in the crock pot on high. When I got home a couple of hours later, they were cooked. We were able to have black beans burritos for dinner, then I made a big pot of soup for Monday dinner and lunches, and still had enough beans to freeze for later on. Mondays are so much less stressful when I have food already figured out.

How about you out there? Any good ideas for making weekday meals easier?

And btw--this soup took about 20 minutes to make. I sauteed chopped onions, potatoes, carrots in a little olive oil. Added broth, chopped caulifower and cooked 10 minutes. Then added black beans, chopped spinach, and frozen corn and cooked another 5 minutes. Seasoned with salt and herbs and spices.

Dangers of Monsanto's Bt corn

According to the Organic Consumers Organization, if you're eating the typical American diet, you are most likely consuming a large amount of genetically-modified foods . . . primarily through consumption of animals that were fed GMO crops. In fact, Monsanto's insecticide-producing bacterial DNA survives human digestion and is now found in the blood of more than 80% of North American women - and their fetuses! The health risks of exposure to the GMO Bt genes is unknown, but Monsanto's own study of rats fed Bt crops showed liver and kidney damage.

Monsanto's genetically modifed corn has been engineered to produces Bt insecticide in every cell of the plant. Monsanto alleged that farmers could plant Bt crops and not have to spray them with pesticides, but corn rootworms are now developing resistance. Scientists warn of massive yield loss and surging corn costs if the EPA doesn't act quickly to drastically reduce Bt crops' acreage and force Monsanto to make non-GMO varieties of its high-yielding hybrid corn available to farmers. In fact, France just placed a temporary ban on Monsanto's MON810 corn because of environmental concerns. Check out the full article here.

Let the EPA know they should ban crops that are genetically engineered to produce pesticides.

For more information about the dangers of eating genetically modified foods, check out this Dr. Oz video.

Also, to help get mandatory labeling of genetically engineered products on the ballot in California, click here.

Organic food myths video

Today I watched this segment from "The Doctors" which supposedly is debunking three organic food myths. So go watch it and then come back . . . it really ticked me off.

Myth #1: You need to buy organic dairy to avoid bovine grown hormone. So the speaker says that some brands are free of rBGH and that they are a lot cheaper than organic so that is what she recommends.

Well, it is true that you can get non-organic rBGH free milk, like the Trader Joe's brand for example. But there is much more to organic than that. With nonorganic milk, you are still getting pesticides from the nonorganic feed fed to the cows, antibiotics, and the cows don't have to have access to pasture. If you consume dairy products, I think it's worth the extra money for a cleaner product and better treatment for the cows.

Myth #2: Whole-wheat pasta is healthier than organic pasta.

Huh? That's like comparing apples and oranges. Are those the only two choices? Why not buy organic, whole wheat pasta. Then you get the fiber without the pesticides and chemicals.

Myth #3: Cage-free eggs do not mean the hens are treated any better than the caged ones.

While I agree that cage-free is only slightly better for the hens than non-cage-free . .. what does that have to do with organic? She doesn't even mention anything about organic eggs.

What a terrible, misleading video. The only thing I thought was good was the little add-in at the end that with lettuce, you don't need to buy the packaged lettuce to get organic. Of course, that's only if your supermarket carries it as I found out a few weeks ago.

So what'd you think?

Book Review: Vegan Pregnancy Survival Guide

Have a vegan friend who’s pregnant . . . or trying to be? Vegan Pregnancy Survival Guide by Sayward Rebhal would be a perfect little gift. This little book is packed with tips and advice for a successful vegan pregnancy. Written in a friendly style, it’s like having a little cheering section when the questions about where you’ll get your protein or if you’ll raise your child vegan get to be too much. The book gives sources for important nutrients, and suggestions for dealing with common discomforts like morning sickness and heartburn—it even lists which antacids are vegan. While this is not a comprehensive manual by any means, it is the perfect companion to one of those big books, which don’t usually include much in the way of vegan alternatives. It’s a fun, uplifting book that you can read in one sitting.